| MSc Veterinary Education |
RVC Experts
The programme utilises the experience and expertise of not only RVC staff and lecturers, but also lecturers and consultants from outside the college, bringing a wealth of experience and perspective from other institutions.
RVC Staff and Lecturers
Dr Ayona Silva-Fletcher
Course Director
Ayona qualified as a veterinarian from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and then did an MSc in Animal Nutrition and a PhD in University of Aberdeen, UK. Her PhD was on rumen bacteria and she spent most of her time in Aberdeen working with sheep and cattle. Following this Ayona spent several years in post-doctoral and teaching appointments at the University of London (Royal Postgraduate Medical School), University of Leiden, the Netherlands and finally at the Open University in Milton Keynes. Ayona joined the RVC in 2003 as the Director of Distance Learning and played a major role in expanding the programme with the development of a new MSc and a short course framework. Ayona is also the course director for the MSc in Livestock Health and Production by Distance Learning. In 2008 Ayona moved to her current position in LIVE to take a leading role in developing a new MSc in Veterinary Education.
Prof Stephen May
Academic Director LIVE Centre, Professor of Equine Medicine and Surgery and Vice-Principal for Teaching at The Royal Veterinary College, University of London
Stephen graduated in veterinary science from Cambridge University in 1980. His clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of lameness problems in the horse. In this regard, he is particularly interested in equine radiology, and bone and joint disease, in all its aspects, including surgical and medical therapy, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, generally. He has obtained RCVS Diplomas in Veterinary Radiology and Equine Orthopaedics, and is recognised by the RCVS as a Specialist in Equine Surgery (Orthopaedics), and by the ECVS as a Specialist in Large Animal Surgery. His research interests are centred on the inflammatory mediators associated with various equine diseases, particularly cartilage degeneration in equine osteoarthritis. In 2003, Stephen was awarded Fellowship of the RCVS for meritorious contributions to learning.
Stephen is currently Deputy Principal and Vice-Principal for Teaching at the Royal Veterinary College, responsible for academic leadership in all areas of teaching, learning and assessment, and for the College’s teaching and learning strategy. In 2002, he was responsible for the award of £250,000 by HEFCE FDTL-4 and Department of Employment for the Optimising Computer-Assisted and Traditional Assessment in Veterinary Education (OCTAVE) project. The project maximises the use of computer-aided assessment, in formative and summative examinations, and has led to the development of objective structured veterinary practical examinations. In 2005, he was responsible for the College’s successful bid for £4.9 million from HEFCE to develop the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Lifelong and Independent Veterinary Education (LIVE), the centrepiece of which is the recently completed state-of-the-art clinical skills facility, enabling the College to educate outstanding professionals who are capable and committed independent learners from the moment they enter university until they retire.
Mr Kim Whittlestone
Senior Lecturer in Independent Learning
Kim qualified from The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in 1989 and spent two years as a locum vet in a small animal practice near Bristol. Apart from this spell in practice, he has spent most of his career in veterinary and medical education obtaining a Masters degree in Medical Education in 2010.
Kim has been involved in the design and delivery of new online and face-to-face courses for both undergraduate and postgraduate study, most recently including the MSc in Veterinary Education at the RVC. He joined the RVC in May 2006 as Senior Lecturer in Independent Learning. Kim is driven by a passion for effective teaching and learning and is inspired by the potential for improving the educational experience of both students and teachers.
Dr Vicki Dale
Lecturer in Veterinary Education and Learning Development Officer
Following a BSc in Archaeology (University of Glasgow, 1992), Vicki developed a keen interest in e-learning, stemming from her MSc in Archaeological Computing (University of Southampton, 1992-93, graduating 1994), her dissertation focused on the development of a multimedia training package on archaeological science. She was subsequently employed (1993-1994) at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where she developed a computer-aided learning package for the TLTP Archaeology consortium.
Vicki worked as an Educational Technologist at the University of Glasgow's veterinary school for 13 years (1994-2007), where she developed courseware as part of the CLIVE (Computer-aided Learning In Veterinary Education) project and became involved in veterinary education research. In 2008, she obtained her PhD entitled "Educational methods and technologies in undergraduate veterinary medicine: A case study of veterinary teaching and learning at Glasgow, 1949-2006", supervised by Professor Martin Sullivan and Dr. Erica McAteer.
Vicki joined the RVC in 2007, initially as a LIVE Research Fellow in Lifelong Learning, becoming a Lecturer in 2008 and taking on the additional role of Learning Development Officer in 2011. She is a Registered Practitioner of the Higher Education Academy, a founding member of Veterinary Education Worldwide (ViEW) and a Fellow of the Centre for Excellence in Professional Placement Learning (2008-2009).
Prof Adrian Boswood
Module Leader
Adrian graduated from Cambridge University Veterinary School in 1989. He spent a year working in mixed, predominantly small animal, practice.
In 1990 he joined the RVC as an intern. He has remained at the college since that time and is now a senior lecturer. Adrian is a clinical specialist in small animal cardiovascular disease. Adrian is the course director for the BVetMed and deputy to the Vice Principal for Teaching.
Dr Matthew Pead
Module Leader
Prior to his current posts at the RVC Matthew has been the head of the Small Animal Medicine and Surgery group and head of Small Animal Orthopaedics. He has also worked at the RVC The Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital, Glasgow Veterinary School and in general practice. In the research field he has been active in research into the physiology of bone and the mechanism of bone disease in both humans and animals
Matthew's time is split between teaching, research, and the referral practice of the Queen Mothers Hospital for Animals. He is currently the RVC Academic director of professional assessement and developement, and Director of the clinical skills centre.
Matthew is interested in novel methods of teaching and learning and has been involved in all aspects of curriculum design and creation of learning opportunities. He is particulalry interested in the creation and delivery of soundly based, outcome driven assessment methods.
Dr Nigel Goode
Module Leader
Nigel qualified from the Veterinary School of the University of Melbourne in 1982 and spent one year in dairy practice in rural Victoria followed by two years in small animal practice. This was followed by a PhD at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London (now Cancer Research UK) and then a post-doc at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, undertaking research into the molecular control of cellular proliferation and transformation.
He joined Veterinary Basic Sciences at the RVC in 1993 as a Lecturer in Biochemistry, and has held a number of positions of responsibility over the following years, including Senior Tutor and Admissions Tutor. He is now Assistant Head of Department (Teaching) for VBS, continuing his interests in the interplay between student welfare and education, and curricular reform.
